This invention relates generally to the load release operation of poultry carriers of the type disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,132,373, 3,291,303 and 3,781,946, by way of example.
In poultry carriers of the foregoing type, the latch element slidably mounted on the pivotally suspended rod-like carrier body is displaced upwardly on one side of the carrier body to release the hook for downward pivotal displacement on the other side of the body in order to effect load drop off. An upward force was accordingly applied to the latch release arm of the latch element by a signal-controlled piston or armature plunger. In such arrangements, the moments produced on the carrier body by the upward release force and the shifting load on the hook during load drop off, are both in the same body tilting direction augmenting load drop off. It was therefore deemed necessary to locate the latch release plunger mechanism on the same side of the carrier body as the latch element and to operate the mechanism so as to produce an upward operating force directly applied to the release arm of the latch element.
However, it is sometimes desirable to locate the latch release plunger mechanism on the same side of the carrier body from which the hook projects opposite the latch element. Such relative relocation for the release mechanism is preferred, for example, in an installation as disclosed in my prior copending application Ser. No. 158,922, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,258, filed June 2, 1980. In such an installation, two laterally spaced carrier bodies are pivotally suspended by offset side suspension links for simultaneous travel along a common conveyor path. The hooks associated with each pair of carriers project from the two carrier bodies toward each other opposite the latch elements so that the associated power operated release mechanisms may be positioned on the remote sides of the carrier bodies. The space between each pair of carriers must therefore be sufficient to avoid load drop off interference between the confronting hooks. To reverse the orientation of the carriers would avoid drop off interference, but would create a problem with the mounting of the power operated release devices between the carriers.
It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a novel latch release system for poultry carriers of the aforementioned type whereby the power operated release mechanism may be located on the same side of the carrier bodies from which the hooks project without any adverse effect on the tilting of the body during load drop off.